![Casa Ceschi / traverso-vighy architetti - Stairs, Windows, Handrail, Beam](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/4fed/0a85/28ba/0d6e/8900/00a9/newsletter/_MG_3144.jpg?1436796260)
-
Architects: traverso-vighy architetti
- Year: 2010
-
Photographs:Alessandra Chemollo
ON THE 12TH CENTURY WALLS
The Ceschi House leans against the 12th century walls of the city of Vicenza. The architects have “listened” to the existing building carefully: restoring the original walls using traditional techniques, while developing the interior as an independent project which allowed the redistribution of the inner spaces in a functional manner.
![Casa Ceschi / traverso-vighy architetti - Image 2 of 15](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/4fed/0a7c/28ba/0d6e/8900/00a8/newsletter/_MG_3091.jpg?1436796248)
RESTORATION AND SUSTAINABILITY
The vision of the restoration as a quest for sustainability has been pursued in the broadest sense of the term, including technical, economic and energy issues. The aim was to create a lightweight structure, that has a character of reversibility, built with high-tech systems, which allowed a period of prefabrication, and streamlining of the implementation and installation phases.
![Casa Ceschi / traverso-vighy architetti - Beam](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/4fed/0a9c/28ba/0d6e/8900/00ab/newsletter/_MG_3191.jpg?1436796289)
A NEW LARCH SKELETON
In the restoration of the Ceschi house, a new structure was designed to fit inside the existing empty walls: a skeleton of laminated larch wood which extends the full height of the building, defining its distribution and establishing a collaborative relationship with the container characterized by an outstanding anti-seismic performance.
![Casa Ceschi / traverso-vighy architetti - Beam, Handrail](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/4fed/0ab1/28ba/0d6e/8900/00ad/newsletter/_MG_3263.jpg?1436796318)
The new structure makes no alterations to the exterior load-bearing walls, but replaces the structural function of existing internal partitions with a lightweight frame system. All the elements which make up the structure were prefabricated, enabling a high level of precision in survey, design and execution.
![Casa Ceschi / traverso-vighy architetti - Windows, Bathroom, Bathtub](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/4fed/0ac4/28ba/0d6e/8900/00af/newsletter/_MG_3289.jpg?1436796346)
NATURAL MATERIALS AND LOW ENERGY
For the thermal insulation of the building, which has been classified as class A, a system of insulating panels were set inside the existing masonry walls, consisting of multilayer insulation laid on a wood and compressed earth panels.
![Casa Ceschi / traverso-vighy architetti - Beam, Handrail](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/4fed/0abb/28ba/0d6e/8900/00ae/medium_jpg/_MG_3271.jpg?1436796332)
These compressed earth panels have high thermal mass and regulate the humidity of the internal environment, making a marked improvement in the heating and cooling performance of the building, and the level of comfort and well-being of its inhabitants.
![Casa Ceschi / traverso-vighy architetti - Windows, Facade](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/4fed/0ad0/28ba/0d6e/8900/00b0/medium_jpg/_MG_3346.jpg?1436796360)
DAYLIGHT AND TRANSPARENCY
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/4fed/0876/28ba/0d6e/5900/00b0/medium_jpg/floor_plans.jpg?1436796412)
In the interior glass is used for its diffusive character both on structural solutions and for interior design: the natural light which flows from the outside is filtered by both horizontal and vertical glass surfaces, creating a sense of continuity between the spaces.